cruet

plural cruets · alternative obsolete crewet

1. A small bottle or container used to hold a condiment, such as oil, vinegar, salt, or pepper, for use at a dining table.

   Near-synonym: shaker (sometimes synonymous)

   4 more examples

   "By Jupiter there's vinegar!" I heard him say to his friend, after he had stood on tiptoe an immense time, and had been crushed and beaten on all sides. "And there's oil!! I saw them distinctly, in cruets! Can any gentleman, in front there, see mustard on the table? Sir, will you oblige me! Do you see a Mustard-Pot?"

   1846, Charles Dickens, “Rome”, in Pictures from Italy, London: […] Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC, page 223

   The sideboard was covered with glistening old plate—old cups, both gold and silver; old salvers and cruet-stands, like Rundell and Bridge's shop.

   1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter VIII, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

   Mrs. Hussey soon appeared, with a mustard-pot in one hand and a vinegar-cruet in the other, having just broken away from the occupation of attending to the castors, and scolding her little black boy meantime.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 17, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC

   It must always be done at night, so that Jurgis could go along; and even if it were only a pepper cruet, or half a dozen glasses for ten cents, that was enough for an expedition.

   1905 April–October, Upton Sinclair, chapter V, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 26 February 1906, →OCLC

   Synonyms: caster, shaker

2. UKA stand for these containers.

   He[…]even had a second slice of lamb, for he was hungry. During the meal, as was his custom, he read from a book propped up against the cruet.

   1931, Francis Beeding, “1/1”, in Death Walks in Eastrepps

   Synonyms: caster

3. ChristianityA small vessel used to hold wine or water for the Eucharist.